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BWF World Championship 2018: No gold, no worries for PV Sindhu

Experts feel Sindhu’s loss to Marin for yet another final defeat is just a case of Indian running into best player of tournament, adding that she can turn tide around

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It was a final bereft of a fight.

Among the major title clashes that India's PV Sindhu was part of, and in which she could not cross the last hurdle, Sunday's final was perhaps her worst, losing 19-21 10-21 in a 45-minute duel to give the screaming Carolina Marin of Spain her third World Championships title in Nanjing, China.

Sindhu could have closed out the first game and applied pressure on the seventh seed. But, Marin has been an altogether different player, not just in the final but throughout the tournament to win her third World Championship gold, becoming only the first women's singles player to win as many World titles.

The 23-year-old from Hyderabad, though, need not feel disheartened. In fact, she should be proud of her result, two back-to-back silver for a tally of four Worlds medals.

Parupalli Kashyap, fellow Hyderabadi shuttler and former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, hit the nail on its head when he told DNA from Hyderabad on Sunday: "Sindhu won silver, not lost gold. This is an amazing result. She has to be happy with her consistency – winning a medal in each of the World Championships from 2013 till now and missing a medal only once.

"To make it to two consecutive finals is a tremendous achievement. Whatever people say about her luck in major finals, Sindhu's result is unbelievable," he added.

Probe further and the world No. 49 in men's singles, Kashyap, who is nursing a back injury sustained in last month's Singapore Open, said: "With Sindhu and major finals, it was just that she bumped into a far superior player in that tournament. If it was Nozomi Okuhara last year, it was Marin this time around.

"Sindhu has to be happy with her consistency, not many have done that of late. Am sure Sindhu will not lose hope. She has been coming back fairly well every time. Don't think she will be sulking," he added.

Former chief national coach U Vimal Kumar felt that a slight lapse in concentration towards the end of the first game cost Sindhu the match.

Talking from Bengaluru, Kumar said: "Sindhu was basically playing the right game but Carolina tried to push the pace. Giving away three points to Carolina in the first game upset her rhythm. Sindhu had the flow, she had the rhythm until then, and even controlled the rallies, frustrating Carolina. But then, the Spaniard seized the opportunity and never looked back. Sindhu did not put in effort in the second game."

Having lost the first game 19-21 after being ahead 11-8 at the break and then 15-11, Sindhu allowed Marin to claw back to level at 15-all and then at 18-all.

Kashyap described Marin's dominance in the second game thus: "Marin raced to an 11-2 lead at the interval. If there was no break, she would have won 21-2. Sindhu tried her maximum to stall her march. Carolina was trying to serve quickly. Sindhu tried to break the rhythm and make Carolina wait. What else could you do when the opponent is running away?"

Terming the result as disappointing, Kumar said that Sindhu should not lose heart.

"It was a sad result. I thought she could have dealt certain situations better. But, everybody says she loses in the major finals repeatedly. But the manner in which she pulled off her pre-quarterfinal, quarters and semis was creditable. One should give credit to Carolina. She kept the pressure going and not allow Sindhu to come back.

"Sindhu should not worry too much about losing in major finals. She should forget it. There are ways to address those issues. She is playing well, doing the things right. She has to just to keep working hard, do everything whatever best she can do. If you talk too much about it losing in finals, it is not going to help her," he added.

Kumar, former national champion and Olympic shuttler, was hopeful of Sindhu turning things around. "She will definitely overcome it. She should look at the positives from this World Championships and take them forward."

Kumar also gave examples of some of the games' legends like Liem Swie King (Indonesia), Morten Frost (Denmark) and Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) never having won the World title.

"These greats of the game have lost many many matches, especially World Championships finals and Olympic finals. Sindhu is young and can deal with it better. World Championships come every year. In those days, it came once in three years. I feel Sindhu need not have to worry too much about it," he said.

N ZONE

4 No. of finals that PV Sindhu has lost in 2018 alone — World Championships, Thailand Open, Commonwealth Games and India Open

3 No. of World Championships finals Carolina Marin of Spain has won, the most by a women’s singles player

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